Just as the America and the rest of the West benefitted from the influx of German scientists brought among its engineering ranks after World War 2 (1939-1945) so too did the Soviets. Along with the engineers also arrived complete and incomplete forms of in-development wartime Luftwaffe program aircraft and ideas and theories that were allowed to be fleshed out. This contribution helped lay the groundwork for the jet age that followed the Grand War as all world powers looked to strengthen their air services heading into the Cold War decades (1947-1991).

The turbojet had clearly supplanted the prop-driven fighter and bomber almost immediately at the close of the war and this pushed the remaining global powers to pursue all forms of their kind to maintain a technological edge. OKB-1 was established in the Soviet Union and stocked with German talent. This team was then charged with development of a new jet-powered bomber following in the lines of the wartime Junkers Ju 287 (detailed elsewhere on this site). In the post-war Soviet Union the Ju 287 was evolved into the "EF-131" and, later, the "Model 140" with the one primary constant to each program was Dr. Brunolf Baade.

1948 saw the new bomber initiative drawn up for the long-range arm of the Soviet Air Force - the product to become the "Model 150" or "OKB-1 150". A twin-engine form was selected to be powered by the Lyulka TR-3 axial turbojet with swept-back wings and multiple crewmembers to manage her various onboard stations. The undercarriage system was wholly retractable and a "T-style" tail unit would round out the list of design features.

By late-1940s standards, the Model 150 was a very modern looking aircraft. It held a heavily glazed nose section and cockpit area at the front of the oval, deep fuselage. Wings were near-shoulder-mounted and swept-back while being fitted slightly ahead of midships. Each wing was given an underslung nacelle for the Lyulka set as well as boundary layer fences for high-speed stability (a feature noted on several classic Soviet aircraft of the period). The empennage carried the single vertical tail fin and its high-mounted horizontal planes. At the rear of the fuselage was a weapons station to help protect the aircraft's vulnerable "six" from incoming enemy interceptors. The undercarriage was of a "bicycle" style arrangement in which two main legs, seated inline, carried the mass of the aircraft along the ventral line while, at each wingtip, were a pair of smaller wheeled legs to the support the wings and prevent the aircraft from tipping. Internally, the Model 150 was given a rudimentary "fly-by-wire" system for controls assist - one of the first of its kind for a combat aircraft. A total of five crew were carried aloft to man the various positions including a pilot/co-pilot team.

OKB-1 EF-150 (Cont'd)

Jet Bomber Prototype

OKB-1 EF-150 (Cont'd)

Jet Bomber Prototype

Dimensions of the Model 150 included a length of 87.8 feet, a wingspan of 79 feet and a height of 11 feet. Empty weight was 57,550lb to a gross weight of 103,635lb. Power from each Lyulka TR-3A series engine registered 11,025lb.

Internally, the bomber was cleared to carry up to 13,230lb of conventional drop ordnance. For local defense it was outfitted with cannons: 1 x 23mm Sh-23 gun was mounted in a fixed, forward-firing position along the starboard side of the forward fuselage. 2 x 23mm Sh-23 guns were held in DB-23 remote-controlled dorsal barbettes (the gunner facing aft in the primary cockpit) and 2 x 23mm Sh-23 guns were mounted in a similar DB-25 remote-controlled barbette at the tail (manned by a dedicated gunner seated in the tail unit).

With construction complete, the Model 150 prototype went airborne for the first time on September 5th, 1952. Performance specs went on to include a maximum speed of 605 miles-per-hour, a range out to 2,800 miles and a service ceiling of 41,000 feet (crew sections were pressurized for this). Rate-of-climb reached 3,280 feet-per-minute and the bomber held a mission endurance window of over 5 hours and 30 minutes.

A static test article was also completed while there were also plans to develop a tactical photo-reconnaissance mark as the "Model 150-R". Design work was seen for this version in 1951 and a mockup completed but little else. The "Model 152" was another related offshoot of Baade's work and intended for passenger airliner service (its design followed the lines of Baade's Model 150 bomber). Two flying prototypes of this form were completed under the East German banner following Baade's return to German soil but the type never entered formal service.

The Model 150 prototype continued in flight trials for 1952 but development was slow due to typical technological hurdles and low support from Soviet authorities. The aircraft managed a total of seventeen flights for its time in the air with the final one taking place in May of 1953 - a crash landing caused enough damage to ensure the Model 150 would be grounded for a length of time at which point all interest in the program evaporated and the prototype was not repaired. The German engineers were then allowed to return to East Germany to continue their lives.

Media

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Image Credit: Image from the Public Domain.

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Image Credit: Image from the Public Domain.

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